Johnson County chair wants citizen panels on diversity, sustainability

16 Tuesday, May 16

Johnson County chair wants citizen panels on diversity, sustainability

info2023-05-16T10:22:28-05:00May 16th, 2023|

A proposal to create new citizen advisory groups on diversity and sustainability are moving forward after county commissioners last week discussed – sometimes testily – how they should be set up. The groups, which will be called coalitions rather than committees, were requested by Chairman Mike Kelly and are intended to bring in opinions and expertise from the community. Each group would have up to 15 members, appointed by Kelly pending approval from the rest of the commission. Source: Shawnee Mission Post

16 Tuesday, May 16

Municipal Bond Trends for May 15, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-05-16T08:11:40-05:00May 16th, 2023|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, Beth Warren or Henry Schmidt.

15 Monday, May 15

Abbyville Frontier Days PRCA Rodeo to begin

info2023-05-15T13:38:21-05:00May 15th, 2023|

The Abbyville, Kansas, hometown rodeo is about as American as apple pie. With 17 flavors of homemade pies, including apple, lots of home-cooked barbecue and cowboys and cowgirls from across the nation competing, this central Kansas rodeo packs the bleachers each night. “They make over 100 pies and 17 different flavors,” said Jeff Welker, the treaurer of the board for the rodeo. “If they don’t have your flavor, then I want to know what it is.” This year’s Abbyville Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo begins at 8 p.m. May 19 and 20. Mutton Bustin’, for the 3 to 6year-old crowd, starts [...]

15 Monday, May 15

Winfield may shorten time for holding stray animals

info2023-05-15T13:12:45-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Request made due to shelter overcrowding. Winfield City Commissioners will consider a request from the Cowley County Humane Society to reduce the number of days stray animals must be held by the shelter before they can be put up for adoption, in response to ongoing capacity challenges at the humane society. The State of Kansas requires municipalities to hold stray animals for a minimum of three days before they can be released if an owner is not located. Winfield’s current ordinance states animals impounded by the city animal control officer must be held for five days. If they are not claimed [...]

15 Monday, May 15

Dancing with a fading past: Why hundreds flock to tiny Kansas town on Saturday nights

info2023-05-15T13:24:55-05:00May 15th, 2023|

While the fiddle player sawed off the dizzy opening notes of Bob Wills’ “Take Me Back to Tulsa” on the stage in the back room, Charles Blagg was browsing the refreshments cooler up near the checkout counter. It was a rainy Saturday night in April, and in a few hours, Blagg — 78, with a white Stetson to match his mustache — would be driving not quite to Tulsa but to his home outside Nowata, Oklahoma, about 110 miles south. He’s made the four-hour round trip to The Mildred Store several times over the past few years. The century-old general store [...]

15 Monday, May 15

Kelly Signs Bill to Attract Healthcare Professionals to Rural Kansas

info2023-05-15T13:25:54-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Governor Kelly signed a bipartisan bill that will provide students with medical school financial assistance. House Bill 2060 expands financial aid programs through the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUMC) for students who practice primary care medicine or psychiatry in rural Kansas. The bill doubles the number of available agreements for KUMC students for the Kansas Medical Student Loan program and adds obstetrics-gynecology to the list of allowable practice areas. Source: 101.3 KFDI

15 Monday, May 15

Wichita Fire Department recommends city remove 6-foot firework height limit, legalizing most consumer-grade products in city limits

info2023-05-15T13:27:55-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Believe it or not, the Fourth of July is less than two months away, and people are already making plans and saving up for those fireworks. But this year, the Wichita Fire Department is hoping to convince the city to change its laws, making it much less strict on what you can legally shoot in city limits. ... "We came up with the possibility of a two-phase process for the next couple of years. But the first phase that we just proposed is allowing aerial fireworks," said [Jose Ocadiz with the Wichita Fire Department]. Ocadiz says the department put together a [...]

15 Monday, May 15

Kansas governor vetoes bill to strip power from public health officials on vaccines, quarantines

info2023-05-15T09:30:39-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation Friday that would have stripped the power to enforce quarantines from public health officials and squashed COVID-19 vaccination requirements for children attending childcare or schools. “Preventing Kansas’ local and state health officials from providing even basic testing for contagious human and zoonotic diseases — including measles, meningitis, Ebola, and polio — will hurt our ability to stop unnecessary outbreaks in the future,” Kelly said in a news release. The bill proposed limiting the clout of state health officials by restricting their ability to enforce testing and quarantines. Source: KAKE - News

15 Monday, May 15

Going once, going twice, gone! Auctions are moving online and changing a rural tradition

info2023-05-15T13:29:22-05:00May 15th, 2023|

Tractors, four-wheelers, a truck, a skid-loader and more are neatly parked in rows outside a northeast Nebraska farmhouse. The farmer who owns this equipment is retiring and is holding an auction on this chilly spring day to sell to the highest bidder. About 200 people, including Anthony Thoene, crowd into a machinery shed to browse. Thoene was hoping to get some fishing rods for his grandkids but was outbid. ... For rural communities, auctions like these are often a social event to see neighbors and friends. But it’s not just the bundled-up neighbors looking for a deal. Internet bidders are logging [...]

15 Monday, May 15

Weskan community comes together to clean up after severe storms tear through town

info2023-05-15T09:26:51-05:00May 15th, 2023|

The Weskan community is picking up after severe storms hit the town Thursday, uprooting trees and damaging homes and buildings, including the high school. Earlier in the day, there was tornadic activity happening just across the Colorado state line. "It was terrifying," said Sandy Miller, Weskan resident. "It was shocking, like 'Oh man, it really did happen,'" said Jeff Montero, Weskan High School Principal. Source: KSN-TV